Three decades of war ended with two treaties signed on the same day.

On October 24, 1648, the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück were signed in Westphalia, in today's Germany. Together known as the Peace of Westphalia, they ended the Thirty Years' War that had devastated central Europe since 1618.

The settlement redrew borders, gave territory to France and Sweden, recognized Switzerland's independence from the Holy Roman Empire and protected the rights of Catholic, Lutheran and Calvinist states.

Why it still matters: many scholars see Westphalia as a milestone in the idea of sovereign states, though historians still debate how much it really changed. Diplomats study it to this day.

Can lasting peace ever be built after a war this long?

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